Hajra Waheed

It was close to midnight when my phone started lighting up last week. James Comey, the head of the FBI, was fired and the freak out was almost immediate. I felt lucky to be in Italy. A buffer from US news was necessary to maintain any kind of focus on the Venice Biennale, not to mention one’s sanity. And yet, even from this distance, the turmoil back home certainly drove home one point: Art isn’t going to save democracy. Art has no impact on Donald Trump’s actions, the FBI, or any of the Republicans in the senate and congress. People can call their representatives. Art cannot.

All of which is to say, the art professional who believes artists are magical unicorns who will save us all is looking increasingly silly. And so, visiting this year’s Venice Biennale Viva Art Viva curated by Christine Macel, which begins with the premise that artists will shape the world to come, felt a bit like walking through a United Way commercial. The upside of this: the 2017 Biennale more diverse than many of its predecessors. The downside: diversity isn’t of much value if the show is bad.

What’s the best way to understand art? One tactic is to see a lot of it. Another is to spend time with artists. And yet another is to curate an entire show around the idea that artist practices are God’s gift to the world and include as many studios, meditations on studios, and virtual studio renderings as humanly possible. Guess which approach Biennale curator Christine Macel takes in the Giardini section. A look at the show below. Arsenale pics here.

Fourteen artists including Tacita Dean, Anthony Gormley, Wolfgang Tillmans and Bob & Roberta Smith have created posters in support of keeping Britain in the EU. The series was commissioned by Britain Stronger In Europe. [The Guardian]

Related: what does the art market have to lose or gain in the June 23 referendum? Many agree that London artists and institutions would lose out on important EU funding and subsidies. Others believe that unnecessary EU legislation — like the artist’s resale right scheme, which was supported by artists but not the rest of the industry — has put the London art market at a severe disadvantage. [artnet News]

Participant Inc.’s founder Lia Gangitano receives a much-deserved profile, recognizing how she has, according to David Colman, “brought witty, raucous and challenging works to the art world’s attention on a modest budget.” Our favorite part of the feature is artist and performer Vaginal Davis’ comment on Gangitano’s collaboration with difficult artists: “I am VERY difficult…I have a disdain for the wealthy and privileged. I offend easily, and am ready to throw down at the slightest provocation.” [New York Times]

Yoga and controversial public sculptures don’t mix. The New York Department of Parks and Recreation is demanding the removal of the noose from Aaron Bell’s 16-foot sculpture Stand Loud, Stand Tall, which is supposed to represent, as Bell explains, “zero tolerance for any and all manifestations of hatred.” Slated to appear in Riverside Park as a part of the parks department’s partnership with the Arts Student League’s Model to Monument Program, the department became concerned because the park also holds “passive recreational activities such as yoga, pilates and senior movement.” [Artforum]

The shortlist for Canada’s Sobey Prize has been revealed. The artists include William Robinson, Jeremy Shaw, Brenda Draney, Charles Stankievech and Hajra Waheed. The winner will be announced in November, and takes home a $50,000 prize. [Canadian Art]

Following Paddle8’s merger with Auctionata, more than a dozen staffers have been laid off or left the online auction house. The departures continue with the exits of chief marketing officer Susan Cernek and Sarah Goulet, head of communications. [ARTnews]

How will they split the collection? Real estate developer Harry Macklowe and his wife of 57 years, Linda Macklowe, are ending their marriage. It appears Macklowe is leaving the former curator and current member of the board of trustees at the Guggenheim for his new girlfriend, Patricia Landeau, president of the the French Friends of the Israel Museum. The couple has a huge postwar and contemporary art collection; valued at $1 billion, it includes works by Franz Kline, Gerhard Richter and Mark Rothko. [artnet News]

Last month, the Senate Finance Committee sent a summary of their findings regarding the practices of tax-exempted private museums to the IRS. Julia Halperin obtained a copy of the report. Key findings include the fact that almost half the 11 museums surveyed — which includes the Brant Foundation, The Broad and the Rubell Family Collection — report fewer than 6,000 visitors per year, and none of them report loans of donated art back to the founders. [Art Newspaper]

Another gallery is fleeing Chelsea, however this time, they’re going to Midtown rather than the increasingly popular Lower East Side. Anton Kern Gallery, which has been in Chelsea for 15 years, will head to a new location on 55th Street, between Madison and 5th Avenue. The gallery’s Chelsea space was sold in 2014 to a condo developer for $24.25 million. [ARTnews]

What is left after a failed relationship other than a broken heart? A lot of random crap as the Museum of Broken Relationships shows in their recently opened Los Angeles location, which displays these previously adored artifacts such as a dinosaur piñata and a Betty Boop doll. The Museum was originally founded by Olinka Vištica and Dražen Grubišić in Croatia as a way to deal with the “emotional collapse” of a breakup. [VICE]

Will artists become obsolete as technology advances further? Google’s newest project Magenta, which will attempt to create original art and music through artificial intelligence, certainly raises that question. [Hyperallergic]